On Tuesday, an investment banker told Bloomberg that Verizon was "very serious" about buying Netflix, sending a flurry of rumors flying across the tech world. Just last week, it was reported that Verizon was considering launching its own streaming service to compete with Netflix. Would it make more sense for the company just to acquire Netflix? What would such a deal mean for Verizon, Netflix, and customers?
It wouldn't do either Netflix or Verizon any good: Though there are exploitable synergies between the two companies, they're better off remaining independent, says Todd Campbell at Seeking Alpha. Verizon already has a huge customer base and deals in place that will position it well in the future, as entertainment increasingly becomes about "seamlessly delivering content across TV, PC and mobile devices." And, while Netflix could surely use the acquisition cash, it wouldn't be enough given that its value has fallen from a market cap of $12 billion in July to just north of $4 billion. Netflix needs to "keep its focus where it should have been: On its customers," and work on growing its subscriber base, not selling out.
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